CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Clayton County Police say the search for a Morrow man who disappeared under suspicious conditions has come to a tragic end.
Police say the body of 39-year-old David Barlow was found April 13 in a wooded area of dead-end street in College Park.
Family reported Barlow missing back on March 29 after they found his car at the end of his mother's driveway running, with his keys and cell phones still inside the car. Investigators found his wallet a few days later in College Park.
Shortly after his death, family told 11Alive's Ron Jones there were no signs leading up to his disappearance to point that he may have been in trouble.
However, weeks later, police would discover the 39-year-old was dead.
According to Clayton County, a man was out walking with his dog on Crystal Lake Road around 7 p.m. Friday when the dog wandered off into the wooded area. The man kept calling for the dog, but it refused to come back. When the man went into the wooded area to get the dog, he found the body and called police.
When officers got to the scene, they found the body "in a state of decomposition which made it impossible to positively identify the male immediately." Police called in the Gerogia Bureau of Investigation, who took the body back to the Medical Examiner's office so an autopsy could be performed.
On April 17, officials were able to confirm that the body belonged to Barlow. In addition, the medical examiner was able to confirm he was shot at least one time, which may have been the cause of death.
Right now, Clayton County Police are treating the case as a homicide and is working to identify suspects in the case.
Family told 11Alive they had no reason to think anyone would wish him harm.
"He didn't deal with nobody," Barlow's girlfriend Katrina said. "Couldn't nobody give a reason why they would hate him. He would give you the shirt off his back."
Anyone who has information is asked to call police or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477).
